Research Associate – DID and Toxic Drug Studies Full-time

Research Associate – DID and Toxic Drug Studies

Brubacher Laboratory | Department of Emergency Medicine | Faculty of Medicine (Jeffrey Brubacher)

Posting End Date: June 6, 2026

Job End Date: June 30, 2027

The expected pay range for this position is $76,128 to $80,000 per annum. This appointment is for a one-year term with possibility of renewal subject to funding and performance.

An application package should include:

• A one-page cover letter outlining the applicant's relevant research and teaching interests;
• A detailed curriculum vitae;
• Contact information for referees

Review of applications will begin June 8, 2026 and continue until the position is filled. The anticipated start date for this position is July 1, 2026 or upon a date to be mutually agreed.

At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career.

Brubacher Lab in the Department of Emergency and the UBC Road Safety and Public Health Research Group is seeking a full-time Research Associate to coordinating and managing multiple research projects while contributing to data interpretation, research development, and team collaboration in road safety and public health.

The UBC Road Safety and Public Health research group is inviting motivated applicants to join our multi-disciplinary research team. Our research focuses on drug-impaired driving (especially with cannabis) and on blood toxicology testing of patients with unregulated drug overdose, including identification of emerging substances in the unregulated drug supply. Our program has national and international visibility in drug-impaired driving research and has recently secured major funding to expand into identifying new adulterants (toxicovigilance) and unregulated drug poisoning research.

The primary focus for the Research Associate is day-to-day administration and management of multiple ongoing research projects, including the National Drug Impaired Driving (DID) Study and The Toxic Drug Study. These activities include supervising co-op and junior RAs, assisting interpretation and dissemination of results, preparing research project deliverables, and assisting with procurement and bookkeeping. Within the broader Road Safety and Public Health Research team, the Research Associate is expected to keep abreast of recent empirical research; provide expertise, particularly in effects of cannabis and alcohol on driving in both experimental and observational contexts; develop research questions and assist with planning innovative data collection methods and analyses; provide support to other on-going studies; and, work collaboratively with members of the study team, external researchers and other stakeholders.

The Research Associate reports directly to the Principal Investigator (PI) for strategic guidance, research planning and review of analytical results. The incumbent is expected to function independently while collaborating frequently with research team members and trainees, including the Senior Research Associate and Laboratory Manager and will supervise research assistants and trainees, providing technical guidance, training and performance oversight. Errors in data handling or analysis, documentation, or quality control may compromise research validity, affect funding, and undermine the integrity of published findings. The incumbent must exercise sound scientific and professional judgement at all times.

Reporting to Dr. Jeffrey Brubacher, the incumbent will be responsible for:

• Develop research proposals addressing emerging road safety research priorities and advancing public health focused emergency medicine initiatives
• Support with drafting and submitting grant applications
• Develop study protocols and data analysis plans of new projects
• Write and edit research manuscripts and project reports
• Oversee the conduct of research including the DUIC: Vision & Attention driving study, The National Drug Driving Study, the Toxic Drug Study, and other projects as required.
• Prepare and coordinate research ethics applications and hospital operational approvals at VGH, other hospital sites in BC and outside BC
• Conduct hospital site visits and train hospital site research staff on study protocols for the National Drug Driving Study and the Toxic Drug Study and other projects as required.
• Support and oversee all technical aspects of research studies including collection of specimens and data acquisition and storage
• Assist in recruiting research assistants, coordinators, Coop students, statisticians, post doc fellows and research student volunteers for multiple road safety research studies
• Provide training and direct supervision to research assistants, coordinators and students
• Work with statisticians and post doc fellows for new and ongoing projects
• Monitor study progress for timelines and compliance with study procedures
• Communicate with, and prepare regular updates for, project PI, site PIs, national stakeholders and sponsor agencies
• Coordinate and oversee research budgets and expenses, and manage all research accounts and payment of research expenses
• Coordinate communication between funding sponsor agencies and relevant parties including University-Industry Liaison Office, research finance and university central finance
• Participate in research meetings and rounds including presentation at scientific conferences
• Provide administrative supports for current and new staff (e.g., hospital computer access, orientation, etc.)
• Additional responsibilities, depending on experience and interests, may include:
• Contributing to study design, protocol development, and data analysis plans
• Conducting literature reviews
• Writing and editing manuscripts and technical reports
• Supporting preparation and submission of grant applications, including budget development
• Participating in research meetings and presenting technical updates

Qualifications

• PhD in experimental psychology or human factors/ergonomics, or a closely related field
• Experience conducting empirical research in road safety, including experiments with human subjects, systematic reviews, scoping reviews, meta-analysis, and observational/epidemiological studies involving hospital and police-report data
• Significant experience with all stages and components of empirical research projects, including conducting desk research/literature reviews, planning methods, preparing materials, recruiting human participants, collecting data, analyzing quantitative and qualitative data, preparing written manuscripts and reports for a variety of audiences and stakeholders, publishing in peer-reviewed journals, and presenting at conferences
• Extensive knowledge of empirical road safety research, particularly as it relates to driver behavior while under the influence of alcohol, cannabis and/or other drugs, including findings, methodological approaches, practical applications, and theories
• Extensive knowledge of human information processing, engineering psychology, human error, vision science, psychometrics, experimental and observational research methods, univariate and multivariate statistics, systematic literature searches, and study quality and risk of bias evaluations
• Significant experience using REDCap and Workday
• Advanced proficiency using MS Word, Access and Excel
• Proficiency using MATLAB and Psychtoolbox to develop psychophysics tasks
• Proficiency computing with Linux Ubuntu operating system
• TCPS-2 certification
• Preferred:
• Knowledge and experience in a breadth of road safety research topics (e.g., fatigue, distraction, vulnerable road users, micromobility, speed, etc.)
• Knowledge of human factors considerations in job recruitment and training
• Knowledge in fundamentals of epidemiology
• Experience with human-centered design and workflow optimization
• Experience training and supervising research assistants, volunteers and students
• Experience with procurement, inventory management, and book keeping
• Experience with Adobe Illustrator
• Formal project management training
• Effective oral and written communications, with the ability to compose clear and grammatically correct correspondence, business documents, and administrative communications
• Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one's own.
• Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one's own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion.